Dayton police shoot man while investigating shooting of 17-year-old boy

Man hit in both legs after police say he pointed gun at detectives.

Detectives shot a man in both legs Wednesday afternoon in Dayton while investigating a nearby shooting of a teenager reported less than two hours earlier.

The man officers shot was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, said Dayton police Lt. Col. Matt Carper, deputy director and assistant chief of police. Dozens of area officers raced to the scene when a Signal 99 call, meaning officers in distress, came.

Detectives initially responded to the 100 block of Lexington Avenue to investigate a shooting reported earlier near Catalpa Drive and Yale Avenue that injured a 17-year-old boy.

“Witnesses informed detectives who arrived on scene that the suspects fled to an address on Lexington,” Carper said.

When detectives arrived, they found four people on a porch, including one person who matched the description of the shooting suspect. When the detectives addressed the group, one person pulled out a handgun, Carper said.

Multiple police agencies responded to Lexington Avenue on Wednesday, May 12, 2021, after a call for officer assistance was issued and shots fired was reported. JIM NOELKER / STAFF

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“Detectives gave them multiple orders to drop the firearm, at which time the subject did not comply,” he said. “The detectives fired multiple rounds and hit the subject in both legs. The subject is currently in non-life-threatening condition at a local hospital.”

Two detectives fired their weapons, but it is not clear whether both shot the man, he said. They will be on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, while the shooting is investigated.

Three guns were seized from the porch. It is not clear if all four people on the porch were involved in the shooting near Catalpa Drive and Yale Avenue.

The call for officer assistance was issued around 1:48 p.m. on Lexington Avenue, as well as a report of shots fired, prompting multiple police agencies to respond. The call for officer assistance was canceled around 1:58 p.m.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office will conduct the criminal investigation, and Dayton’s professional standards bureau will handle the administrative investigation.

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